Life in progress


42 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS April 4/15

Friday this week finds us in a long weekend for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! I can only imagine how busy you’ll all be with Easter, and families, and friends, and giant bunnies to deal with, not to mention those who are participating in NaNos and Blog Hops – it’s crazy! To potentially make it a bit easier on some of us, I can at least start with the correct letter for tomorrow’s A-Z Challenge. So, this is it:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: use a word, anywhere in your post, that begins with the prefix “de-.” Extra points if your word ends with “ed”! It’s all about the fun – have some!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


36 Comments

SoCS – Not Knowing

I’m such an idiot. I mean, you’d think I’d think about what I might want to write before I come up with the prompts for SoCS, or at least when I do, but what really inspires me is the words themselves. I don’t think ahead past that until I actually sit down to write the post. This one, for instance.

Someone (sorry, I can’t remember who at the moment, but I’ll look it up when I’m finished writing this – J.L. Campbell (@JL_Campbell) – that’s who it was) said to me the other day on my A-Z reveal that they couldn’t write posts not knowing what they were going to write about ahead of time. I said I thrive on it. And I do. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this year’s A-Z, finding a word minutes before I sit down to write a post. I think I may end up writing many of the posts largely in Stream of Consciousness style, though I will probably edit them before I publish. For me, once I get on a roll with my writing I can’t stop. It’s like those conversations you have in your head when you finally figure out, sometimes hours later, what you should have said. That witticism that escaped you that makes you, later, slap yourself for not thinking of it sooner. Or the eloquent explanation of how you feel about something that sounds so good in your head, but once the confrontation is upon you, you trip over. THAT’s exactly how being on a roll feels like to me. It’s that speech that’s impossible to reproduce. And that’s the real beauty of not knowing.

This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.com/2015/03/27/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-2815/ Please join in today! Just click on the link to find out how!

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions


34 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 28/15

Friday’s here again and time to get ready for Stream of Consciousness Saturday. I have a list which I keep adding to every time I get an idea for a prompt. Strangely, the list keeps getting longer – I never seem to use it. And you know what? This week is no exception. So I present to you once again, your unlisted prompt for SoCS!

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “naught/knot/not.”  Use one, use ’em all… you know the drill! Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


10 Comments

SoCS – At a Loss

I’m at a loss this week. I don’t know what to write. But hey, that’s why I leave the prompts so open – it’s easy to stay on topic when the topic is loose. I’ve complied with the terms of the prompt already. Four times.

I’m stuck in my novel, you see. It’s why I haven’t posted much in the last few days – concentration at this point is fierce. But that’s what I needed. Alex is with his dad for March break, so I only have the other two kids at home. For the most part they take care of themselves.

So what can I write about for SoCS this week? My eyes haven’t been given me any problems lately, thank goodness. (Touch wood.) (I really did touch wood.) And aye is such a strange word, isn’t it? I thought about adding “ai” to the prompt, which in Japanese is the root of the word “love.”

Love makes the world go ’round…

 

This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.com/2015/03/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-2115/ Join in today!

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions


37 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 21/15

It’s time for your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday, and it just so happens that it’s also the northern hemisphere’s first official day of spring! Spring reminds me of going on trips and that reminds me of the childhood game, “I spy.” Such a chaser-away of boredom, wasn’t it? The game, however, isn’t the SoCS prompt – here’s what it is:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “I/eye/aye.”  Use one, use ’em all – just make it yours. And have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


44 Comments

SoCS – Exotic Pets

I’ve always wanted a snake. I love snakes. I remember in high school having a math teacher who used to bring his snakes to school, usually on Hallowe’en – he’d have one or two hanging around his neck as he walked the halls making half the school scream and run the other way and the other half would be drawn to him in fascination.

You may have seen recently that I have two cats living in my house at the moment. I prefer dogs, however. I would have liked to request a service dog for my Autistic son, Chris, but for some reason he’s afraid of dogs and always refused to have one when I suggested it. He’s also afraid of the cats, though he won’t admit it. He hides in his room whenever they come upstairs unless he really wants something from the kitchen. Then he seems okay with them. He’ll pet them even. People ask me if he’s ever had a bad experience with a dog – I don’t believe he has. At least not while in my care, though we did have a babysitter with a dog once…

It’s scary having a child with a huge fear of animals. There was a time when I couldn’t take Chris out unless we were going in the car. I took him for a walk once with my eldest son and Alex who was in a stroller at the time. Chris would have been about eight years old maybe. So we’re walking on the sidewalk of a moderately busy street and these kids coming the other way were walking a dog – a German Sheppard – and the kids were being dragged by the animal having decided it was going to run. Chris decided to run away from it. I couldn’t let go of the stroller because I didn’t know what the dog would do to Alex so I had my other son (nine years old) chase Chris back up the street. Chris eventually ran into the road not having the sense at the time to realize that a car would certainly hurt him worse than the dog probably would. Luckily nothing was coming. Gone were the days of taking the kids for a walk together. It was too dangerous to do alone.

I still worry about him when he’s out alone, even though he’s now 19 years old.

Snaking back to the beginning of the post that’s gone wildly off track… I still want a snake. What do they eat? Not sure how I’d handle the tweets of crickets through the night, and if it’s big enough … let’s just say I like mice too.

It’s a purchase that’s going to require some research.

This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.com/2015/03/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-1415/ Click the link and join in today! Yes, you!

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions


45 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 14/15

Hey! Welcome to your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! It’s been a while since we last did a fun, nonsensical prompt, so I figured why not let go a bit? We’re almost out of the dead of winter here in North America; time to kick up our heels!

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “pat/pet/pit/pot/put.”  Use any, use all or have fun with words that contain them!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


44 Comments

SoCS – Going Home

Photo0033

I used to go there as a kid. My friends and I spent hours there, or sometimes I’d just go alone and sit. The locks were unused even back then – the place was run down and at the end of a dusty old road that went no where, it was rare to see people there.  That was my experience of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada in the seventies. It was where I spent most of my time.

The picture was taken two and a half years ago. I went back, on my own just to see how much had changed.

They’ve turned it into a public trail now. “Beautified” it–in my estimation it was beautiful when it was solitary. There were so many people walking across the bridge on the day I was there, but few came down to my spot under the tree where I would sit and contemplate life and make up stories as a kid.

Photo0034I could barely hear them over the sound of the rushing water, so I felt at peace still. I remember sitting on the big final step with my legs dangling over, wondering how cold the water was. There were rumours that people had drowned in the current – I doubt it’s very deep, but you never know. In years gone by there was water running down the other side too… the level was much higher back then.

Now the fence prevents anyone from exploring like I used to. There was no fence back then. Just the drop.

That day two years ago I remember not wanting to leave. I must have sat on that concrete slab for two hours or more. I kept saying to myself, “I don’t want to go.”

It’s a bitter-sweet feeling, revisiting a place that means so much – that so much of the past can be remembered by. The sharp scent of iron in the water, the constant, unending shush of the waterfall, the birds chirping in the trees, the heat of the summer rising humidly from the ground.

It didn’t matter that I didn’t want to leave that spot; I knew I had to get up and go eventually.

You know the feeling.

 

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

This post is part of SoCS – join in the fun today!!  https://lindaghill.com/2015/03/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-715/

 


41 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 7/15

It’s March already! Is everyone feelin’ the spring in the air? Not yet for me – I’m afraid it’s still in the distance. Hopefully not the distant distance. Speaking of which, I have your Friday prompt in my noggin for Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Want it? Here it is:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “go.”  Ready, set, GO!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


40 Comments

SoCS – Sticky Friends

I’ve had very few friends in my life who have stuck with me. Not one to make friends easily in the first place–I make great acquaintances–there have been not many to count on to stick with me anyway.

When I was little I had a couple of friends, then in my teenage years there were three or four of us mostly, maybe six in total. Two of those six I still speak to occasionally – my best friend John who I met when we were 17 and my friend Joe. One thing that’s remained constant in my life – I don’t make friends with women very easily. I imagine I’m not “girly” enough.

As for imaginary friends, I’m not sure if I even did those right. I’ve never had “friends” I was able to talk to… no, my imaginary friends are characters I live vicariously through. Right from childhood up until now I’ve been able to sit and create worlds, populate them with interesting people with fabulous lives, and spend time there sometimes going over and over the same scenes for hours on end. I wonder if all writers of fiction do this.

Now I have John, Joe who I text to once in a while, and my neighbour with whom I have coffee once in a blue moon. (She keeps asking me to go, bless her, even though so often I’m not able.) And I have all of you, my faraway friends on the internet. It would be interesting to meet you all in person, and see if any of you “stick.”

This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.com/2015/02/27/special-edition-friday-prompt-for-socs-february-2815/

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

and Love Is In Da Blog: https://justfoolingaroundwithbee.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/love-is-in-da-blog-february-ping-back-post-rulessuggestions-week-4/

Love Is In Da Blog

Please click the links and join in!